Ryu blinked up at the ceiling.
White. Plain. A spinning fan above, slowly turning, humming a quiet, steady heartbeat in the sterile room.
Soft hospital light filtered gently through the curtains, casting everything in a pale, unreal glow, as if the world itself were holding its breath.
Her gaze shifted sideways. Her hand was clasped in another's warm, steady, a fragile anchor in the drifting fog of pain.
A boy sat beside her, bandages beneath his shirt, covering his shoulder... bathed in golden light, like the golden hour had chosen only him, carving a sanctuary out of the shadows. For a brief moment, she forgot the ache, forgot the weight of loss pressing down on her chest.
Then....a murmur of voices outside the door.
Her grandparents. Shaky. Worried.
And then… another voice. Low. Cold. Unfamiliar.
Johnny stirred beside her, tension snapping through his body like a drawn bowstring. His eyes narrowed.
Sharp, alert, listening to threats only he could hear.
He exhaled heavily, a breath full of burden and unspoken pain.
Without a word, he leaned down and wrapped his arms around her.
Ryu froze, stunned by the sudden warmth.
"Please be well," he whispered against her hair."Promise me you'll take care of yourself… please?"
She stared at him, confusion and fear swirling in her chest.
"…You're going somewhere?"
His expression shifted, darkened by regret and something heavier, something unsaid.
"What if this is all because of me?" he said softly, voice cracked and fragile.
"I can't watch you suffer anymore. You've already lost so much. I don't want to be the reason you lose anything more."
He hesitated, the weight of his decision pressing down like a stone.
"My mom... she wants me to leave. To go to the States."
Ryu sat up abruptly, shock crashing through her like cold water.
"You're telling me now?!"
Her voice trembled, thick with disbelief and pain.
"Why?! Why you.....of all people?!"
Tears stung her eyes, burning trails down her cheeks. Her chest ached, squeezing tight as the dam inside her broke. The breakdown came like a crashing wave, relentless and consuming.
Johnny said nothing.
He just looked at her eyes, holding something unspoken, unnameable.
An ocean of sorrow and love tangled together.
Then, gently, he reached for her face. His thumbs brushed away her tears, as if he could wipe away the pain etched beneath her skin.
"I'll come back for you," he whispered.
"I won't leave you in this monstrous world, not forever. The same world that took everything from you, I'll fight it. One day."
He rested his forehead against hers, a quiet promise between two broken souls.
His voice dropped to a feather's weight.
"I have nothing to offer you right now... no safety, no power. And after what happened… it could've been your life, Ryu."
He pulled back just enough to meet her eyes, steady and fierce despite the tremble in his voice.
"If I stay, things will only get worse. Worse than you know."
"Don't trust anyone. And please....finish school, it's your last year.
Don't give up. Ever. Promise me, okay?"
She was drowning in his eyes, ink-black, aching, filled with a fragile hope that shouldn't have survived all they'd been through.
Through blurry tears, she nodded.
His hands still cupped her face when he smiled, a soft, sad smile that reached deep into her ribs and pulled at her heart.
"Let's go home?" he said gently.
"…When are you leaving?" she whispered.
"Soon," he replied, the word falling like a stone sinking in still water.
"Will you be there… at the mourning?"
"Yes."
Then he leaned in and kissed her forehead.
A touch so light… but filled with yearning, like he was leaving pieces of himself behind.
"…Okay," she whispered.